Aim High (2014)

Contrary to popular opinion, I actually really loved this drama. Why? I'm not exactly sure but it's relatively rare that I care about all the relationships in a drama, whether it be the main couple, secondary couple, or the side story couples. Yes, this drama was supposed to be the journey to reaching your dreams. And yes, this drama does focus on the relationships more. But is that a bad thing?

I really liked all the relationships portrayed in the drama. So there are four couples. My favorite one was Mao Mao (Guo Shu Yao) and Dao Yuan (Lego Lee). I really like the reunited love storylines so of course I thought their high school flashbacks were just completely adorable. No, I haven't watched In a Good Way yet because I heard about the open ending and it's set in the 90's so I don't know how great Liu Chuan is so that can't influence my view on this drama. Anyways, I'm probably biased because of Lego but I really liked his character, regardless of the mistakes he made because it was very human. Their chemistry was spectacular, in my opinion. They look compatible and their interactions were so natural on screen. The main couple, Yi Fen and Qi Feng are pretty cute too. I liked the journey they experienced together more than their romance because their romance was kind of bland. The other two couples were cute and definitely added to the overall cuteness of the drama. The confessions, dates, and make-up scenes were all really creative, even for dramaland and I loved that. And as usual, there is a disapproving mother, and supportive parents, so be prepared for that. And did I mention James Wen played a small part here? I was so excited when he showed up because he was phenomenal in the drama, The Fierce Wife and he's just an awesome actor.

Aside from the romance, I loved their sisterhood. The four of them are like sisters and they always support each other and work through fights. I loved their friendship and how it contributed to the drama overall. The journey to reach their dreams did seem more like a side note than the main theme, which is how it's supposed to be. Nevertheless, this drama did portray the struggles of work, and materialistic values very well. It showed me the hardships of going out into society and how different people face those challenges. Yes, some of the follow your dream speeches were very cliche and corny but that's what this drama is about! I think they were appropriate and not overdone at all.

Music was great! Love the OST and I already downloaded them all. There were a few emotional songs that made me teary-eyed in combination with the scene. I especially love Missing You All the Time by Vianz & Shan, which is beautifully sung and I Want You by Dom. T, which is super catchy and a fun beat.

On a side note, one big reason why I fell in love with this drama was because I could identify with Mao Mao. In a way, I saw myself in her and I believe that for many drama viewers out there, being able to identify with a character is a huge aspect in starting to become emotionally attached to a drama. I could relate with her stubbornness and her resilience in always being the emotionally stronger one.

Overall, I already re-watched almost all the Mao Mao+Dao Yuan scenes so the re-watch value is high! I loved this drama and marathoned all of it in a week so I think I would re-watch it sometime in the future. I don't know how great Lego was in In a Good Way yet but I watched this first because I didn't want his performance there to influence me on what could have been a great drama. And Aim High was really a great drama! In the end, I definitely recommend this drama for those drama fans out there that like a lot of romance, like me! (9.75/9.25)

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We all start a drama for at least one reason right? My main motivation to watch ''Aim High'' was Lego Li's presence, after the amazing ''In A Good Way'' I wanted to see more of him but actually I loved the other actors's character even more. So if you plan to start this drama solely for Lego Li you may end up being disappointed by his character, which for me is so far from Liu Shan Feng's awesomeness. Of Course ''Aim High'' has its own qualities, the casting is pretty fine and it was such a pleasure to see Meng Summer in a main role this time, I've seen her in second roles up till now in ''They Kiss Again'' and ''In Time With You'' I always enjoyed the characters she portrayed but Xu Yi Fen is my favourite. There are also Chris Wang, that was my first time seeing him and I'll definitely try his older dramas, and Su Lyan + Wang Edison, my favorites of the show <3

So the story deals with a group of 4 college friends Yi Fen , Yang Mao Tang,Tian Mi Xiang and Hao Mei who decided to live together in Mi Xiang's aunt's house to pursue their dreams even if they know that it's not easy to attain their goal, the road is filled with many obtacles and sometimes sacrifices have to be made, the dreams can change too depending the path people follow but to never give up is the sentence all these girls would scream to you. I still remember when Yi Fen said ''that we can not give up before even trying'' which is absolutely true. I'm a little bit sad because in this drama we don't have the opportunity to explore more of each character's dreams beside Qi Feng ( Chris Wang), Yi Fen, Dao Yuan and Mao Tang, the others characters were completely ignored.
As for Yang Mao Tang, her dream changed a little bit because as I said before people may change over time and follow another path, She was the perfect example and that is not a spoiler.

Now I'll say some words about the characters since I have a lot on my mind that needs to be said. My favourites were Mi Xiang and Ping Yao, they made me so crazy . I mean their common love for Arts, one is a painter and the other is a Poet, through this passion they were able to understand each other very well, much much more than the other couples. I love how Ping Yao takes care of Mi Xiang, always considering her thoughts first before doing anything and making her smile. Their first encounter was unique and made my heart beat so fast cause I knew they would make a great and silly pair together. I simply had to talk about them even before the leads, they were the most outstanding for me :) . Then comes Qi Feng and Yi Fen, I really loved them too, they were cute and adorable and never let misunderstandings destroy their relationship, Yi Fen is such a generous, calm and interesting girl, I love her determination to never give up and because of her Qi Feng achieved so many great things.
Our second main couple ''Dao Yuan/Mao Mao'' was pretty annoying, I was totally insensitive toward their love, and sometimes it was like Mao Mao was suffering the most, and as if everything was related to her love story with Dao Yuan which super annoyed me but for sure those who love romance will enjoy in their sweet but lovey-dovey relationship, it was just not my case. If I begin talking about Dao Yuan it will tire me, he made one huge mistake: listening to others and let them dictate him what he has to do and I couldn't understang that. He is very tender and righteous when it comes to work and his real dream was to make Mao Mao happy beside being fair and work for people's rights. I admire that in him but what else does he have to offer?!
Other characters were fine but nothing special, I did really like Mao Mao's manager, Liang Jin De (director of I-Game company), as for Hao Mei the fourth girl I found her really childish and boring and I did not find her pretty useful for the story.

Otherwise my overall impression of this drama is pretty good, I loved the friendship between all these characters which was also one of the reason I watched this drama, but somehow it was not enough developed, I wish they went more often together outside doing activities, anyway there were still great moments. This drama surely has many flaws, some reactions from our characters were very childish and rash even from the oldest, that I was constantly cringing, many things were predictable too it bothered me and sometimes not, and to be honest I knew how it would end, I must say that I'm not really fond of this kind of ending I have my personnal reasons but I won't tell more.

I decided to give this drama a 7, it was fun and refreshing, exactly what I needed at the moment to feel relaxed and not stressed so = mission accomplished. And in comparism with other Twdramas I find this one much better and that's why I give it a pretty high rating.

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